ZWO Filter Wheel for 5x 2" Filters

ZWO USB Filter Wheel for 5x 2" Filters

ZWO´s latest EFW (Electronic Filter Wheel) provides a larger clear aperture than the previous ones but is still not heavy - only 500 grams!

The filter wheel body is CNC milled from an aircraft graded aluminum block. It features excellent craftsmanship, is very thin and light with only 20 mm thickness.
 

Motor drive

The core part of the EFW is the stepper motor which has reliable performance and quality that comes from NPM, Japan. The 2” Electronic Filter Wheel can be rotated in both counter clockwise and clockwise direction for filter selection.

There is no need of multiple cables to power this wheel up, just one USB cable does the trick. The maximum power supply of this EFW is approximately 120 mA @ 5 V, which can be operated from the cooled CCD’s USB2.0 port.
 

Filters

There are two models of the EFW 2”:
♦ TYPE1: EFW5X2” (this one)
♦ TYPE2: EFW7X2”

Both accept 2″ thread-in filters and 50.4 mm ±0.5 mm unmounted filters.

When connected to ASI6200, the distance from the filter to the sensor is about 18 mm.

ZWO´s 2″ RGBL filters are recommended to work with ASI6200MM Pro camera, it will offer nearly 1:1:1 RGB color balance.
 

Possible configurations for a working distance of 55 mm

There are several possibilities to combine the ASI6200 with a filter changing system and/or off-axis guider. A detailed description of the different variants can be found in this PDF file: ASI6200 Configurations

The third image show the requirements which must be met when using third-party 2" filters.
 

Camera connection:

The filter wheel attaches directly to ZWO full-frame cameras like the ASI6200, either with or without the camera´s tilting plate.

On ZWO APS-C cameras such as the ASI2600 (and newer ASI071), the filter wheel can also be attached directly, but M54 to T2 adapters are available, linked below.

ZWO cameras with 4/3 or 1" sensors as well as the ASI174MM can be attached via such an adapter or the ZWO-T2-Tilter-2 (optional, see accessory recommendations).

ZWO cameras with smaller sensors can only be connected via the adapter from M54 to T2.

The choice of adaption depends on the required working distance when using correctors, while otherwise you can decide quite flexibly.
 

Downloads, Drivers:

ZW Optical supplies software and drivers online for free download.

Software and drivers for all ZWO articles
 

Technical data:

 

Type:	Motorized filter wheel
Filter size:	2" or 50.4±0.5 mm
Filter positions:	5
Body material:	Aircraft graded aluminum, CNC milled
Body thickness:	20 mm
Working distance from filter to sensor:	18 mm with ASI6200MM Pro camera
Telescope connection:	M54x0.75 female (M48x0.75 and M42x0.75 via supplied adapters)
Camera connection:	Screws
Drive:	Stepper motor from NPM, Japan
Control mode:	ASCOM and SDK
Electric connection:	USB2.0
Power requirement:	120 mA @ 5 V
Weight:	500 g